# A Negro Explorer at the North Pole — Character guide

> Key figures in A Negro Explorer at the North Pole by Matthew Henson.

- [Commander Robert E. Peary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_negro_explorer_at_the_north_pole_se/characters/commander_peary.md): Peary is the expedition's driving will — a civil engineer turned commander who inspired in Henson an almost instinctive loyalty the first time they met in 1888. He demands total commitment from every man and returns it w
- [Matthew Henson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_negro_explorer_at_the_north_pole_se/characters/matthew_henson.md): Born free in Charles County, Maryland, in 1866 and orphaned at seven, Henson went to sea as a cabin-boy bound for China before he was grown, then spent four years sailing the world as an able-bodied seaman. When he met P
- [Captain Bob Bartlett](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_negro_explorer_at_the_north_pole_se/characters/captain_bartlett.md): As master of the Roosevelt, Bartlett occupies a distinct rank in the expedition's hierarchy — answerable to Peary, but responsible for every soul aboard when the ship is in motion. His authority rests on seamanship rathe
- [Professor Ross G. Marvin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_negro_explorer_at_the_north_pole_se/characters/professor_marvin.md): Marvin brings scholarly precision to a venture otherwise defined by brute endurance, handling the observations and records that give the expedition its scientific legitimacy. He is respected enough to be entrusted with t
- [Professor Donald B. MacMillan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_negro_explorer_at_the_north_pole_se/characters/professor_macmillan.md): MacMillan joins the expedition as one of the educated men Peary gathered around him, and his time on the Roosevelt and in winter quarters serves as his apprenticeship in northern travel. He is part of the supporting cast
- [Dr. J. W. Goodsell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_negro_explorer_at_the_north_pole_se/characters/dr_goodsell.md): Goodsell's role is unglamorous and constant: treating the injuries, illnesses, and slow physical deterioration that Arctic travel inflicts on the entire party. He works in a world where a minor wound can become fatal and
- [George Borup](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_negro_explorer_at_the_north_pole_se/characters/mr_borup.md): Young, eager Mr. Borup serves as Peary's assistant, bringing college-boy energy to a brutal Arctic expedition where enthusiasm must survive ice, hunger, and the long dark.
- [Ootah](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_negro_explorer_at_the_north_pole_se/characters/ootah.md): Faithful old Ootah, an Inuit hunter and dog driver, knows the ice like scripture and carries the expedition's survival in his hands and harness.
- [Harry Whitney](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_negro_explorer_at_the_north_pole_se/characters/mr_whitney.md): American hunter and explorer who wintered in the Arctic.
- [Dr. Frederick A. Cook](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_negro_explorer_at_the_north_pole_se/characters/dr_cook.md): Rival explorer who claimed to have reached the North Pole first.
- [Kudlooktoo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_negro_explorer_at_the_north_pole_se/characters/kudlooktoo.md): Eskimo member of the expedition team.
- [Josephine Diebitsch Peary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_negro_explorer_at_the_north_pole_se/characters/mrs_peary.md): Peary's wife, who accompanied him on earlier Arctic expeditions.
- [Charley Percy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_negro_explorer_at_the_north_pole_se/characters/charley_percy.md): Expedition steward and assistant.
- [Egingwah](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_negro_explorer_at_the_north_pole_se/characters/egingwah.md): Eskimo hunter and dog driver on the expedition.
- [Chief Engineer Wardwell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_negro_explorer_at_the_north_pole_se/characters/chief_wardwell.md): Chief engineer of the ship Roosevelt.
- [Hugh J. Lee](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_negro_explorer_at_the_north_pole_se/characters/hugh_lee.md): Expedition member and assistant.
- [Seegloo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_negro_explorer_at_the_north_pole_se/characters/seegloo.md): Eskimo member of the expedition.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_negro_explorer_at_the_north_pole_se/characters